Head harness for masks



July 18, 1944. A. H. BULBULIAN 2,353,643

HEAD HARNESS FOR MASKS Filed July 29, 1942 4 Sheefis-Sheet 1 ARTHUR H. BULBULIAN M M/m W y 1944- A. H. BULBULIAN 2,353,643

HEAD HARNESS FOR MASKS Filed July 29, 1942 '4 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 2.

Elma/M101 ARTHUR H BULBUL IAN July 18, 1944. A. H. BULBULIAN 2,353,643

HEAD HARNESS FOR MASKS Filed July 29, 1942 4 Sheets- Sheet 3 ARTHUR H. BULBUL IAN lyi aw y W July 18, 1944. BULBULIAN 2,353,643

HEAD HARNESS FOR MASKS Filed July 29, 1942 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 FIG. 8.

I02 98) 9| 99) FIG. 9. |0|

j I [oooloooocirj ocooooo) l I III I j l 6 l' f I I03 4 95 97 93 96 92 I00 7 I09 I08 H6 ARTHUR H BULBUL IAN Q I WWW/11557 W Patented July 18, 1944 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE- naan amass ron msxs Arthur H. Bulbulian, Rochester, Minn. Application July 29, 1942, Serial No. 452,811

3 Claims.

My invention relates to a head harness for masks and has for its object to provide a form of head harness for holding the mask securely mounted on the face of an aviator or other wearer, which will at the same time be adapted for any adjustment to fit the head of the wearer whether worn over or under a helmet, and which will be comfortable and satisfactory in operation.

Various types of harness have been supplied which have been not too satisfactory because insuflicient contact is made with supporting parts of the head. There is no provision for sufilcient adjustment to fit various sizes and shapes of head, andin many cases the harness can only be made effective for holding the mask by causing undue pressure on certain parts of the head or face which produces discomfort to the wearer. Furthermore, types of mask harness as heretofore used have been of such a nature that they can be held on the head only when the mask is attached. This is a serious inconvenience since the application of the harness with the mask attached is much more diflicult than if the harness can be properly adjusted to the head first and then the mask applied by merely snapping hooks on the mask into eyes on the harness.

It is a principal obiectof my invention, therefore, to provide a harness structure which will grip parts of: the head and neck of the wearer so as to give firm and balanced support to the mask itself and which will not produce uncomfortable pressure areas on the parts of the head, face or neck which are contacted.

It is a further object of my invention to provide in combination with various strapping means a face-contacting supporting member for guiding and holding the strapping members out of contact with the ears of --the wearer and which aids in securing the straps properly in position and which renders the wearing of the harness satisfactory and comfortable.

It is a further object of my invention to form said support of a substantially arcuate or semicrescent outline and encircled opening for receiving the ear and with guides for straps on either side of the ear to be fastened to crossing straps to be secured to the mask body. It is a further object of my invention to have the straps running from the crossing straps of the mask pass over the top of the head and the nape of the neck respectively and to have these straps pass through the series of slits in the face contacting supporting member providing keepers for slidably uniting the straps and supporting member.

It is a further object of my invention to provide said straps, in combination with the facecontacting supporting members with means for adjusting the length of the straps to bring them into firm adjusted contact with the parts of the head of a wearer,

It is a further object of my invention to provide an elastic head strap adapted to pass over the forehead of the wearer and to be connected with the face-contacting supports.

It is a further object of my invention to carry the head strap either attached to the face-contacting supporting member or slidably connected therewith back to form a strap member encircling the coronal portion of the head.

I It is a further object of my invention to make this coronal head band adjustable asto length so that it will fit the head of any individual wearer and thus hold the harness in position on the head, whether or not the mask is attached to it.

. The full objects and advantages of my invention will appear in connection with the detailed description thereof, and the novel features by means of which the aforesaid advantageous results are secured will be particularly pointed out in the claims. 1

In the drawings illustrating some forms of my invention- Fig. 1 is a side elevation view indicating the position of the harness and the mask as worn.

Fig. 21s a similar side elevation view of a somewhat modified form of the harness structure of Fig. 1.

v Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on line 3-3 of Figs. 1 and 2.

Fig. 4 is a fiat planvview of the harness of Fig. 1 disassembled.

Fig. 5 is a view specifically of the mask of Fig. 2 shown in the position of Fig. 2 with the head part eliminated and it applies also substantially to the showing of Fig. 1.

Fig. 6 is a side elevation view showing the parts as worn of the modified form of construction in which the head contacting piece is shown as positioned at the side of the head above the ear and not surroundingthe ear, as is true of the head-contacting piece of Figs. 1 and 2.

Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 6 showing the parts in position apart from the mask and the head of the wearer.

Fig. 8 is a modified form of the invention wherein the head-contacting portions across the top of the head and at the neck are directly sewed to an aviator's helmet.

Fig. 9 is a plan view of the head-contacting part removed from the helmet; and

Fig. 10 is a plan view of the neck-contacting part removed from the helmet.

As shown, and referring first to Figs. 1, 3 and 4. a pair of face-contacting members I I and I! are formed having a broadly arcuate top outer edge "and an inner edge ll forming an elongated side opening I5, substantially vertical as the harness is worn adapted to receive the ears of the wearer and leave them exposed and free.

As clearly shown in Fig. 3,-the face-contacting members II and I2 are formed of two layers, It and II. The bottom layer I8 is of semi-soft material such as 'chamois for direct engagement with the face of the wearer. The top layer I1 is member ii and having on its outer end a buckle formed of strong very pliable leather with a smooth outer finish, preferably some form of kid skin. The entire construction is. therefore, very pliable, fully adapting it to be held comfortably against the face of a wearer.

The lower portion (as worn) of the face-contacting members ii and [2 has a projecting ear is which normally will come down on the neck below the ear, as indicated in Figs. 1 and 2. Extending transversely across the central part of this ear is a series of slits I9 and forming keepers 2| and 22, Figs. 1 to 5, which are adapted to come above a pair of strap members 22 and 24. The strap members 22 and 24 are therefore mounted in sliding arrangement upon the projecting ears ll.

Each of these strap members is provided with a I hook 25 adapted to engage in an eye 28 on a strap 21 secured by buttons 28 to the mask body 2!. On the inner end of strap 23 is a buckle l0 and on the inner end of strap 24 are a series of holes Ii. By these means the straps 22 and ii are adapted to be fastened at the nape of the neck, as indicated at 32, in Fig. 1, so as to fit the individual wearing the harness, and the lower part of the face-contacting portions I I and I2 including the ears I! are adapted to slide along the strap portions 23 and 24 so as to permit adjustment of the face-contacting portions II and II to the side of the neck and about the ear of the wearer.

The upper parts of the face-contacting members H and I2 are provided (as worn) with downwardly-projecting ears 33. Above the ears 33 are pairs of slits 34 and 35 made in the outer or top layer ll of the face-contacting members. These slits, as clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 4, extend substantially along the coronal plane of the head as the mask is worn and form between the pairs of slits respectively keepers 26 and 31. Slidably mounted under the keepers 36 and 31 of facecontacting member II is a strap is terminating in its outer end in a buckle 39. Similarly under the other set of keepers 3i and 31 on face-contacting member 12, as clearly shown in Fig. 4, is a strap 40 provided with a multiplicity of holes 4I'. Strap 28 has at its inner end a hook 42 and strap 40 has at its inner end a hook 43. The

hooks 42 and 43 are adapted to engage an eyemember 44 on a strap 45 held on the mask body a by buttons 46 and extending at an angle across strap member 21. With this arrangement the straps II and 40 may be carried over the top of the head as shown in Fig. 1 and may be secured together in a manner to hold the harness and the face-contacting portions II and I2 thereof in proper position on the side of the face and about the ear of the wearer and when the hooks 42 and 43 are engaged with the eye-piece 44 it will hold the mask body 21 firmly in position on the' assaess 4| secured to the upper part of face-contacting .r Also secured to face-contacting member 12 and extending in the same plane as strap 40 and tape 41 is a second strap Ii provided with a multiplicity of holes 42, all as clearly shown in Fig. 4. when these strap members 4| and ii are united there is a substantially continuous strap arrangement going about the coronal part of the head, and, in combination with the other strap- PinZ means, holds the entire harness securely to the head even when the mask body 2! is not held to the face of the wearer by hooks 25 and 42 in eye-pieces 2i and 44.

The parts above described in detail as to Figs. 1, 3 and 4 are the same in the modifications of Figs. 2 and 5 except for the following features: The coronal headband II comprises a single continuous member formed throughout its length of elastic tape. As clearly shown in Figs. 2 and 5,

'slits 54 and 55 cut out keepers 58 and II in the top layer ll of the face-contacting members ii and I2. The band 52 goes under the keepers l8 and i1 and over wide keepers 51' overlying the straps 3i and 40 so that both the straps 34 and 40 and the band 52 are slidabiy connected with the upper portion (as worn) of face-contacting members H and I2. The band 52 is made adjustable as to length by carrying a loop portion 58 through an eye-piece I. and maintaimng the parts in locked position by an eye-buckle Cl, as best shown in Fig. 5. By extending or shortening the loop portion 58 the band 53 may be set to encircle the coronal part of the head with a sumciently tight grip to hold the harness in position.

In the modification of Figs. 2 and 5 the strap portions 23 and 24 are formed of elastic material and are secured at their ends by loop portions 6i running through an eye-piece O2 and held by an eye-buckle 33. Similarly in the modification of Figs. 2 and 5 top strap pieces 3' and 40 are formed of elastic tape and are adjustably secured together by a loop portion 04 extending through an eye-piece i5 and secured by an eye-buckle II.

The form of my invention illustrated in Figs. 6 and 7 has face-contacting members 81 and I of the form shown in these figures. These members contact the face only above the ears of the wearer, as shown. The coronal headband I2 is identical with the headband 53 of Figs. 2 and 5 and is slidabiy mounted on the face-contacting pieces in a similar way. As best shown in Fig. 7, keepers Cl and II are formed on the outer layer of face-contacting piece I! and the headband 53 is thus slidabiy held on face-contacting member 61. Keepers ll and 12 are formed on face-contacting member 81 and receive a strap member II which is united at 14 with an eye-piece I5 adapted to take over a hook 16 directly secured as indicated at 11 to the mask body 20. A second strap II is slidabiy held to face-contacting member 68 in the same manner as strap 13 is held to face-contacting member 01. The strap II is secured to a second eye-piece II which has the part thereof corresponding to the similar part of eye-piece 15 adapted to enga e a hook similar to the hook it hereinbefore described. The strap II has a loop II which runs through an eye-piece l2 and through an eye-buckle II. In this form of the invention the strap members 13 and II may be of elastic material. Similarly a strap member 84 is attached at 85 to eye-piece I. A similar strap portion 06 is attached to eye-piece 'il at the angles to straps I3 and 18 indicated in Figs. 6 and '7. The strap 84 has a'loop portion 81 which extends through an eye-piece 88 and is secured by an eye-buckle 09.

In the construction shown in Figs. 8, 9 and 10, a helmet 90 is the base of the harness and takes the place of the face-contacting members and of the coronal band 53 of Figs. 2 and 5. Upon the helmet 90 is sewed a piece 9| shown in detail in plan of Fig. 9. The piece 9| is formed in the same manner as the face-contacting member IT with an outer and inner layer. On the outer layer of piece 9| is formed keepers 92, 93, 94 and 95, the latter being shown in dotted lines because of the overlying of a strap portion. slidably held within keepers 92 and 93 is the strap portion 96 which overlies keeper 95. The strap portion 96 is provided with a multiplicity of holes 91. Slidably mounted upon a piece 9I under keepers 94 and 95 is a second strap portion 98 which is provided at its outer nd with a buckle 99. To the strap portion 96 is secured by means of a staple I a hook member II, and to the strap member 98 is secured by means of a staple I02 a hook member I03. These hook members engage eyemember 44 on strap 45 secured to the mask body 29 in the same manner as in the form of Figs. 1 and 4.

Similarly, a piece I04 may be sewed to the back of the helmet, as indicated at I in Fig. 9. This piece, as clearly shown, is roughly crescentshape and is composed of inner and outer layers as are pieces II and I2as heretofore described. This piece is provided with a center section I05 which carries at its ends a pair of buckles I06 and I01 disposed at a suitable angle so that when the piece I04 is laid around the back of the neck the ends I08, I09 thereof may take positions in parallel relation on opposite sides of the neck.

Piece I08 has a keeper II 0 through which is slidably mounted a strap III provided with a suitable number of holes I I2 and the strap is thus slidably mounted on the piece I04 and may be secured in any adjusted position thereon by buckle I06. Similarly a keeper II3 has holes in sliding relation upon the end I09 of piece I04. A strap H4 is provided with holes II5 by which it is adapted to be held in adjusted position by means of buckle I01.- The hook device H8 is on the end of strap I II and a hook device I" is on the end of strap II4. These hook devices engage eyes 26 on strap 21 fast on mask body 29 in the same manner as is shown in Figs. 1 and 2. It follows that the harness device of Figs. 8, 9 and 10 gives an adjusted 4-point suspension of the mask body 29 in the same manner as the earlier described harness structure.

The advantages of my invention have largely been made clear in the foregoing description. A fundamental advantage resides in the fact that the mask body is held firmly in position by a 4-point suspension arrangement comprising suspended straps or tapes which are slidably ment so that the harness may be adapted to adjust itself in perfectly fitting arrangement upon any type of head and face, while the face-contacting members protect the face from irritation by rubbing of the movable holding parts. A further advantage present in all forms of the invention is that means is provided to hold the harness in position upon the head of the wearer when the mask is separated therefrom.

I claim:

1. In combination with supporting means on a mask body, a harness for holding the mask in position comprising a face-contacting member on each side of the head, said members having upper and lower portions and an intervening open portion for receiving the ear of a wearer, strapping means adapted to go over the head of the wearer slidably connected with the upper part of the face-contacting member, other strapping means adapted to pass around the neck of the wearer slidably connected with the lower part of the face-contacting member, and means for connecting the two sets of strapping means to the supporting means on the mask body.

2. In combination with supporting means on a mask body, a harness for holding the mask in position comprising a face-contacting member on each side of the head, said members having upper and lower portions and an intervening open portion for receiving the ear of a wearer, a strap slidably mounted on the upper part of both face-contacting members for going directly over the head of the wearer, a second strap slidably mounted on the lower part of both facecontacting members adapted to pass around the nape of the neck, eyes on the supporting means on the mask body, and hooks on the ends of the mask for engaging in said eyes, whereby the mask will be secured upon the face of the wearer by a 4-point suspension.

3. In combination with a mask and a pair of straps thereon, said straps secured to the sides and extendin over the top of the mask in angularly disposed relation and each of said straps terminating in ends extending out on each side of the mask body, a harness for holding the mask in position, comprising a face-contacting member on each side of the head formed with portions adapted to holda pair of supporting straps in alignment with the respective straps on the mask body, a strap slidably mounted on both face-contacting members and adapted when worn mounted upon a face-contacting member, which provides both anchorage for these straps or tapes and supporting means permitting ready adjustto be in alignment with the projecting portions of one of said mask straps and to pass directly over the top of the head of the wearer, a second strap slidably mounted on both face-contacting members and adapted when worn to come into alignment with the other strap ends on the mask and to pass around the nape of the neck, and complementary hooks and eyes on the respective ends or said straps, whereby the mask may be quickly and easily secured upon the face of the wearer by a four-point suspension and quickly and easily removed therefrom.

ARTHUR H. BULBULIAN. 

